Classical review: Dawn Upshaw, cohorts delight Festival Miami crowd

October 27, 2014 1:06 PM

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Composers from the world of popular music who attempt to write classical scores can find the distance between genres daunting. While many have failed to cross that divide successfully, Maria Schneider is clearly a creative artist who has made that leap with distinction. Best known as a jazz composer and band leader, Schneider conducted two of her song cycles at Festival Miami on Saturday night.

In many ways Schneider’s appearance on the Gusman Concert Hall stage was a homecoming. She is a former student at the UM Frost School of Music (as well as the Eastman School of Music and the University of Minnesota). Schneider has infused settings of poetry by North and South American writers with h...